CBCP urges public to join ‘Earth Hour’

MANILA-- The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the faithful to participate in the worldwide and annual celebration of Earth Hour, by turning off essential lights for 60 minutes on March 25.

"We your bishops ask all Catholics in the Philippines -- and wherever they may be -- to join in observance of earth hour. This way, we will also be reminding ourselves of how needlessly wasteful we can be -- of electric energy, water, and other resources that we thoughtlessly believe we have in abundance but of which we are, increasingly, in short supply," said CBCP President Socrates Villegas in a statement.

"When the darkness engulfs as, as we switch off our electric gadgets, we will allow the lights of heaven that God placed in the firmament to pierce through the veil of self-centeredness and destructiveness," he added.

The Lingayen-Dagupan prelate noted that their participation will also connect themselves to the people in other parts of the world who are not fortunate to have access to basic needs.

"We will also unite ourselves to all those who, in different parts of the world, have yet to enjoy the benefits of electricity, steady water supply, and reliable food sources," he said.

Villegas added, "Truly, Earth Hour can be a chance for us to submit ourselves to the discipline of Lent and to the renewal to which the season calls us all."

On the other hand, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle reminded Catholics that as part of being servants of God, it is their duty to protect the environment.

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